emotive

American  

[ih-moh-tiv] / ɪˈmoʊ tɪv /

adjective

1. characterized by or pertaining to emotion.

   the emotive and rational capacities of humankind.

2. productive of or directed toward the emotions.

   Artistic distortion is often an emotive use of form.

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emotive British  

/ ɪˈməʊtɪv /

adjective

1. tending or designed to arouse emotion

2. of or characterized by emotion

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Usage

Emotional is preferred to emotive when describing a display of emotion: he was given an emotional (not emotive ) welcome

Other Word Forms

• emotively adverb
• emotiveness noun
• emotivity noun
• hyperemotive adjective
• hyperemotively adverb
• hyperemotiveness noun
• hyperemotivity noun
• nonemotive adjective
• nonemotively adverb
• nonemotiveness noun
• unemotive adjective
• unemotively adverb
• unemotiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of emotive

First recorded in 1725–35; emot(ion) + -ive

Explanation

Something described as emotive shows feeling. If you consider women more emotive than men, you think that women are more comfortable sharing their feelings than men. While the word emotive is similar to the word emotional, it's important to note that the two aren't interchangeable. Emotive is used with regard to something that makes you have intense feelings rather than just having intense feelings. For example, an emotive conversation will result in getting people's emotions riled up, while an emotional conversation is one in which people go into it with a lot of intense feelings already.

Example Sentences

The community choirs said they wanted to us the "emotive power of song" to highlight what they say is the desperate need for a long-term recovery plan to combat pollution and ecological decline.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

A prime minister not noted for hyperbolic or emotive language in public has unleashed a volley of vitriol - a chain of events "staggering," "shocking," "unforgivable," he claims.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

One network identified in the study, based in Vietnam, used AI-generated imagery and the impersonation of local media outlets to spread emotive content to more than one million followers.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Acting, as Chalamet has shown time and again, is as much about a lithe and flexible body as it is about an emotive psyche.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026

Dark and emotive, they suggested a trace of ex-otic blood in his heritage—Greek, maybe, or Chippewa—and conveyed a vulnerability that made Westerberg want to take the kid under his wing.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer